Source: @ Interesting, Xiao Xu

Books are mirrors, and people can only see their hearts in books......

The Shadow of the Wind is a work by Spanish novelist Carlos Ruiz Zafon, telling a moving story that blends reasoning, thriller, history, pure love and existentialism.

Before we begin the story, let's talk about the author. Born in Barcelona, Safón has lived in Los Angeles for many years, but he still has an indelible affection for the ancient Spanish city that has endured all its vicissitudes. He was deeply influenced by nineteenth-century novels, especially the works of Tolstoy and Dickens. In 2001, he published the novel "Shadow of the Wind", which created a sales miracle and was widely acclaimed.

Okay, let's get down to business.

This is a very witty, well-written story, a legendary journey that unfolds in search of the soul hidden in the book. In Barcelona after World War II, on his eleventh birthday, his father took him to the "Forgotten Books Cemetery", a library dedicated to books forgotten by the world. At the instigation of his father, Daniere picked up a copy of Julián Callas's novel The Shadow of the Wind and was fascinated by it. He began to search for other works by the same author, only to find a deformed man who called himself "Cooper" searching for all of Callas's writings and trying to burn them all. And this copy of "The Shadow of the Wind" in Daniel's hands is likely to be the last. What started as a simple literary journey to find its roots unexpectedly opens the door to a terrifying adventure into Barcelona's dark past. As the outline of the mysterious author Julian emerges, Daniel's life gradually overlaps with him, and if he does not find out the truth sooner, his loved ones will fall victim to murder, magic and madness...... In the light and shadow of Barcelona, humanity, love, and hatred overlap, floating like a phantom in the wind.

As mentioned earlier, Safon was deeply influenced by nineteenth-century novels, and "The Shadow of the Wind" does have the characteristics of typical nineteenth-century novels: a large, full-bodied novel that seems to be all-encompassing and all-encompassing. At first glance, it is a coming-of-age story, with an eerie gothic atmosphere, a poignant love story, elements of deducing puzzles, and a narrative technique of posterior. But if this is all there is to it, then "The Shadow of the Wind" is at best a good-looking popular novel, and it cannot leave its own mark on the halls of literary history. However, as the plot develops, something deeper and more probing into the essence of human nature slowly emerges. In modern history, Spain has gone from prosperity to decline due to political strife, civil wars, and foreign invasions, and has also been poisoned by corrupt bureaucrats. From the book, you can see the fear and pain of ordinary people under the fires of war, the tyranny of the secret police, and the helplessness of good people when they are bullied......

As if on the part of the author, Julián's parallel life from Daniere is like a continuation of the historical trajectory in which we can witness the transformation of the city of Barcelona, the fall and exile of famous families, and the gradual decline of traditional booksellers...... The ending inevitably falls into the cliché of a suspense novel, and it is more perfect, Spain has regained its former glory, the disfigured writer Julián has picked up the pen of literature again, the poignant incestuous love many years ago has made today's lovers finally married, and the father Daniele is about to take the hand of a child and walk to the tomb of forgotten books...... Time has passed, things have changed, only reading is still ......

Personally, I think this is a literary work where classical and modern sense coexist, classical is reflected in the author's view of love, reading and other aspects directly related to the theme, while modern is the author's narrative method is different from others, and the way to let different characters tell their own experiences. The language is also very vivid and humorous, sometimes making people smile, which is different from most novels that involve suspenseful plots.

When I close the book, I think that "The Shadow of the Wind" is a love song by the author that commemorates Barcelona and is dedicated to the art of reading. The story ends in the sixties, when television replaced fiction as mainstream mass entertainment, and Safon borrows the words of the characters in the book, saying that "the art of reading is slowly fading, reading a book is a very private activity, a book is like a mirror, and we must have enough introspection ability to observe ourselves in the book...... Reading requires wholehearted dedication, but there are fewer and fewer such readers." At the end of the day, that's what the book is about. Perhaps because of this, Safon politely rejected a plan to adapt Shadow of the Wind into a film, even with the famous director Polanski, despite the book's strong sense of imagery. He wants this story to be born for reading, forever in the form of a novel.

I've always had a habit of traveling with a book, and after reading this book, I always thought that if I had the opportunity to travel to Barcelona in the future, I would definitely take it with me. When you think of Barcelona today, whether you've ever set your feet on that land or gazed at it from afar in movies and picture books, Gaudí's enigmatic architectural masterpieces, the Gold Coast caressed by the sun, or the football team that has won countless glory, and the taverns that serve sausages, bacon and wine, come to mind. After all, this is the "flower of Europe" that has hosted the Olympics and the World Expo. "Shadow of the Wind" is different, it brings us a dark and sad and devastated Barcelona, where strong love and hatred, and twisted human nature are intertwined and struggling in the dirty alleyways and in the shadow of World War II. Open your hands and embrace more possibilities, which is also the meaning of reading.

The sentence on the cover of a book lover that embarks on a journey to explore love and friendship because of the book perhaps best illustrates the theme of the book, and everyone who reads it is in this journey to explore the world, to find love, to appease hate, to remember some people, and to be remembered by some. On that night in the Valley of Red Leaves half a year ago, I was reading in a difficult way and looked at the starry sky, and one person after another appeared in front of me like a movie, and the memories of my youth and frivolity came to my mind little by little. At that time, we were young enough not to believe that the four seasons would be bleak and life would be lonely. We don't know that the curtain of life is far from being opened, and the joys and sorrows of life are still far away from what we can't see. Now, day by day, it is approaching, silently.

Really, a book is a wonderful medium, when you don't look at it, it's quiet, but when you open it, it's alive and immediately starts talking to you. They are always good at evoking people's feelings of the first visit, even if it has been a long time, there is still no time and space distance to change back, as if they have visited again.

The emotions are too heavy, the words are too light, and I still can't express all the understanding of the book, but as long as I see myself in the book, gain introspection, know my own value, and discover the best self, it is already worth it, isn't it?